Aren't You?
by nalunatics
Summary: Cana wants to set Lucy up with a guy in one of her classes and Lucy is apprehensive. The mystery man behind her phone, Natsu, is funny as hell and she loves talking to him, but what about that bad boy skater type that she keep seeing around her apartment? Lucy is conflicted and Cana keeps telling boys about Lucy's boobs. Rated T for now, but may become M in later chapters. Nalu
1. Sarcasm of the Day: Thank you, Cana

"Lucy _please_ let me introduce you to this guy, you will _love_ him!" Cana pleaded with the blonde, practically begging on her knees save for the whole 'begging on her knees' part.

"I don't know, Cana, that's a bit much... Meeting some random guy? It's just... I don't know..." Lucy wrung her hands together nervously at the thought of meeting a complete stranger let alone going on a date with them.

"But he's not some random guy! I have class with him! I've talked to him before that's why I know he's so perfect for you!" Cana reasoned and Lucy sighed.

"That's not really in my comfort zone..."

"What _is_ in your comfort zone? When was the last time you went on a date, Lucy? I'm just trying to get you some di-" Lucy cut her friend off before she could go full on vulgar-Cana on her.

"I'm not really sure that I want to meet someone right now... And what makes you think that he's so perfect for me?"

"At _least_ take his phone number." Cana insisted, snatching Lucy's phone out of her hands and quickly tapping away at the screen after looking up the guy's number. " And what makes me think that you'll love him is because that he's _totally_ your type." Cana smirked and Lucy quirked a brow at her.

"Oh, and what is my type?" Lucy questioned, snatching her phone back after Cana was done assaulting it. Lucy leaned back on her bed where the girls were seated. Cana had come back to Lucy's apartment with her after class, the brunette _insisted_ that Lucy have a drink or two with her to celebrate the weekend. What was Lucy to do, the girl didn't take no for an answer so, there she was, glass of wine in hand and Cana pestering her about boys.

"Bad boys." Cana stated simply, swilling back her glass well before Lucy had even reached the halfway point on hers. "You totally have a thing for them, don't deny it." Lucy blushed slightly; it was true in a way. Lucy _did_ like the occasional outcast, maybe ones with messy hair and tired eyes, the ones that had bruises from fights or working out- it was a thrill to her because she was just the opposite. Born and raised in the pampered life, made to be proper and to keep up appearances. Sure, she had left that right as she turned eighteen, much to her father's chagrin, but what did she care what he thought.

"Th-that's not..." Lucy began and Cana rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Oh my god, don't deny it! Okay, listen up. This guy is fucking hot as hell, trust me." Cana nodded eagerly. Lucy usually took Cana's word for gold; the girl had a knack for picking out the most attractive guys and girls. It was a gift. "He's got the messy hair, tattoo sleeves on _both_ , that's right, _both_ arms, and oh my god, Lucy, his voice is _so_ sexy!"

"Are you sure you don't want to date him?" Lucy chuckled and Cana blanched.

"Hell no! One, he's not my type- too much of a boy and too much lack of boobies. Two, the moment I met this kid I was like 'Lucy needs his dick', dude!"

"Cana!" Lucy protested in embarrassment and Cana laughed pouring herself another glass of wine.

"He does martial arts, well, something along those lines, and has the muscles to prove it. He plays soccer for the school team, and a couple facial piercings, I might add, which I didn't think would be attractive, but he pulls them off well." Cana tapped a finger on her chin in thought, swishing the wine in her glass around. "But why am I telling you this all, you should get to know him! At least text him." Cana urged and Lucy looked down at her phone. Cana had put the guy's number in under the name _Natsu._

"Hm, I don't know." Lucy bit her lip and then sipped her drink carefully.

"Well, I already told him you'd text him so, get to it." Cana informed her and Lucy glared at her friend.

"Why would you do that?!" Lucy exclaimed and Cana snickered.

"Because, I was telling him about you and he seemed to think that you were cool."

"And what exactly did you tell him about me?" Lucy asked slowly and Cana simpered.

"I told him you had big tits." Lucy choked on her drink and Cana cackled madly. "Relax, uptight, I just told him a little bit about you. Though I did mention your boobies, heh. But that's not up to me, you should shoot him a message." Lucy groaned and glanced back down at her phone, the bed moving as she shifted her weight. "Look, I gotta go, but let me know how it goes, kay?" Lucy gave her fiercest glare up at Cana as she got up to leave Lucy's apartment, and Cana just laughed it off, patted Lucy's head, and closed the door behind her. Lucy sighed, finished off what was left of her wine, and stared up at her ceiling for a few minutes. Her dog, Plue, jumped up on her bed and curled up, looking curiously at her. Lucy sighed again and picked up her phone, eyeing Natsu's name in her contacts. Her head had started to feel light even though she had only had two glasses of wine; damn Cana, she knew wine went straight through her. Wine made her giggly and flirty and caused her trouble if she had too much. This time, the trouble it caused was the fact that Lucy was _actually_ typing out a message to this mystery guy.

 _Hey, sorry if this is weird, but I think you know my friend, Cana. She told me to text you... So, yeah. Sorry, I'm Lucy._


	2. He was a Skater Boy

Lucy found herself waiting anxiously for a text, though she wouldn't admit it to Cana. She lay splayed out on her bed, biting at her lower lip, and clutching her phone with mildly shaky hands. Her head was still spinning from the wine that was unharmoniously discarded on her desk, and she was in shock that she had even sent the guy a message.

"Oh god… I bet Cana never even said anything to him… That little…" Lucy cursed the earth that Cana walked on and Plue looked at her in an almost concerned state. She was about to plug in her phone and call it a night before the screen suddenly lit up and her phone chimed with a new text message. "Oh my god!" Lucy gasped and frantically grabbed at her phone. Sure enough, the message read that it was from _Natsu_. She was hesitant to open in to see what he had said; she drew in a shaky breath and swiped her phone open, her eyes immediately darting down to rake over the words he had written to her.

" _Hey Lucy, I'm Natsu. Cana did mention you, but I didn't know she'd give you my number,_ "

"Oh, that's real nice, Cana! He didn't even know I was going to text him!" She knew somewhere, Cana was drunk and laughing madly at Lucy's expense. What a nice friend.

" _but it's totally cool. Makes me realize that Cana's not actually clinically insane and has no friends haha!_ " Lucy couldn't help but smile down at her screen, she liked him already for his 'bashing Cana skills'. Lucy, of course, loved Cana, she was a great friend, but she had a knack for getting Lucy into trouble. She also had a habit of telling people, guys especially, about Lucy's boobs… Not to mention that she, herself, loved to randomly touch Lucy's _assets_ without permission.

" _Yeah, sorry about her… I hope she didn't say anything too weird lol._ " Lucy quickly typed back, nervously plucking at the edge of her blanket where a few stray strands had come undone. Her phone chimed and lit up again as Natsu responded and Lucy found herself giddy with the prospect of talking to someone new.

" _Well… She DID say something I don't really think I should mention in a first impression text haha._ " Lucy inwardly groaned, of course _that_ had to be what Cana _didn't_ lie about.

" _Oh god… Did she say something about my boobs?_ "

"Oh my god, why did I just send that?" Lucy shrieked and dropped her phone in embarrassment. Somewhere in her apartment complex a grumpy person banged on the wall behind her and told her to shut up. "Ugh…"

" _Hahaha yes._ " Came the response and Lucy momentarily buried her face in her pillow wanting to end the conversation there and then. " _But if they're as nice as she described them then… I can't complain too much haha!_ " Lucy could practically _feel_ the blush that spread its way across her cheeks.

" _So… She told me you're into martial arts?_ " Lucy sent back quickly, attempting to redirect the conversation.

" _Yeah, mainly because my friends are in it and I wanna kick their asses lol_."

" _Ah, I see lol_." Lucy smirked down at her phone, what was it with guys and wanting to beat each other up? " _That's really cool though, I'd love to see it some time._ " Lucy found herself writing back without much thought.

" _Oh! Yeah… That would be cool… I'd probably mess up though- never really had an audience before._ "

"Nice going, Lucy, he probably thinks you're a freak now. Inviting yourself to go watch him beat his friends up into a sweaty hot pulp." Lucy was in between talking to herself dreamily about the sight and angrily.

" _Sorry! Didn't mean to invite myself!_ "

" _No! It's okay :) maybe we could talk a little more often..? Get to know each other?_ " Natsu reasoned back and Lucy smiled down at her phone again.

" _I'd love that! Besides, I need to know more about these tattoos that Cana described…_ " Lucy shot back, she figured that the alcohol was giving her a bit of a confidence boost.

" _Haha! Yeah, gotta admit, they're pretty sexy… idk if you can handle them ;)_ "

"Oh shit," Lucy covered her face with her pillow and giggled girlishly into it. Oh no, Natsu, Lucy was sure she _wouldn't_ be able to handle the sexy level of your tattoos. That was totally another thing that Lucy had a thing for. Give her a boy with some well-done ink and she was almost melting on the floor.

* * *

Lucy had talked to Natsu a lot in the week following her first text to him. Cana had pestered her the day after to ask if she actually 'had the balls' to text him, and Lucy proudly showed that she had had a conversation with him. That ultimately ended up in Cana asking when she was going to 'smash him' and Lucy ended that conversation. Of course, her friend hadn't stopped bothering Lucy about texting Natsu, and Lucy felt bad because she was probably doing the same to him in their class together.

Lucy found out that they, sadly, didn't have any classes together. She figured she would have noticed a muscular tattooed guy that was, apparently, smoking hot, in her class. She still didn't know what the guy looked like other than he was, well, muscular and handsome. That and that he had some piercings, but that was all straight out of Cana's mouth and she had decided that she wasn't going to tell Lucy anymore about Natsu, and that he and her needed to meet in person if they wanted to know more about one another. Fine, if Cana was going to be that way then if anything important happened, she wasn't going to tell her. That'll teach her.

Lucy decided that Natsu was one of the most _hilarious_ people that she had ever met. Well, she couldn't exactly say that they _had_ met, but it was close enough. He told her, in excruciating detail, about how one of his friends always manages to strip down to his underwear. Said friend is also Natsu's 'frienemy', and he was the reason why Natsu had started taking martial arts classes- he simply had wanted to beat the shit out of him. Nice, right? Lucy also found out that he was a big sweetheart and was actually very shy. He loves cats and has a cat named Happy that, when he's 'ready to meet in person', he wants to show her. That brings up the _shy_ part; he's apparently, from what Cana had told her, a semi-obnoxious student and likes to cause trouble in the classroom. He's a hothead and is ready to pick a fight with anyone who looks at him cross. That's why it had continued to perplex Lucy as to why he seemed so reluctant to meet her. If he was so outgoing and outspoken, why was he so shy about meeting her?

Lucy shook her head in thought and exited her apartment complex, ready to take on another day at Magnolia University. It wasn't long into her walk, down the flight of stairs of her building, that she saw _him_ again. Her heart fluttered against her chest, her mouth practically _watered_ at the sight of him, and a sigh escaped her lips. The guy she was talking about was another resident in the apartment complex who _always_ seemed to be leaving around the same time that she did. He was a skateboarder, red flannel, and beanie kind of guy, and he was totally freaking hot in Lucy's opinion. Every time the two saw each other, he'd wink at her, flying by on his skateboard, and a cocky smirk plastered on his delicious lips. Lucy watched as he skidded to a halt on the pavement of the road and momentarily turned slightly towards her. His horseshoe septum ring glinted in the sunlight, and unruly hair poked out from underneath a dark brown beanie. He pulled his signature smirk, winked, and kicked off the ground taking off fast down the road. Lucy watched him skate away while she was left flustered and her heart beating in her throat. Was it bad that she had it _this bad_ for a guy that just _looked_ at her in the right way?

"Oh god, Lu, close your mouth, I think I see a bit of drool dribbling out." Lucy suddenly whipped around to see her blue haired friend, Levy, stepping out of the apartments across the street from her own.

"Levy!" Lucy whined embarrassedly and Levy giggled.

"What? It's the same thing practically _every_ day. You two have eye sex, you fantasize your entire life with him in the span of about six seconds, and then neither of you talk to each other." Levy sighed and Lucy pouted.

"Not true!"

"It _completely_ is! Just _talk to him_!" Levy urged and Lucy crossed her arms defiantly.

"No way! I'm not going to just walk up to some random guy and talk to him just because he smiled at me… I don't even know who he is." Lucy's pout increased and Levy rolled her eyes.

"And _how_ do you think that people meet each other?" Levy snorted.

"I know, but what do I do? Go up to him and be like, 'hey, I think you're super hot and kind of want to throw you down on my bed and do unspeakable things to you, what's your name?'. I don't know about you, but I don't think that will go over well." Levy choked out a laugh, throwing back her head.

" _That_ ," Levy began in between gasping for breath, "Is _exactly_ what I want you to do. Trust me, I bet he'd be totally into that. I bet you wouldn't even make it to the bed, he'd probably take you right there in the stre-" Lucy shoved a hand over Levy's mouth before she could finish her sentence, a prevalent blush on Lucy's face.

"You are so obnoxious!" Lucy wailed and Levy just giggled behind her hand in response.

* * *

"Do you think he doesn't like me or something? Maybe thinks I'm weird?" Lucy suddenly asked Cana. The pair had gotten together with Levy and went down to one of the local bars just outside of the campus grounds.

"Hm?" Cana perked up from her drink that she was focused on, and eyed Lucy in confusion. "What do ya mean?"

"Natsu, I mean. We talk a lot, but he seems to not want to ever meet me or anything." Lucy frowned into her drink that she was nursing.

"Hey, you never mentioned that you were talking to someone new." Levy piped up, her brow creasing slightly.

"I set her up with this guy in one of my classes- he's totally her type." Cana smirked and Levy nodded in understanding without having to be explained what Lucy's 'type' was.

" _Anyway_ , what's up with him then?" Lucy pressed and Cana frowned.

"I don't know why he's being shy, he's talked about you a lot in class honestly." Cana revealed and Lucy's eyebrows shot up in surprised.

"R-really?" Lucy stammered out and Levy snickered.

"I thought you didn't talk to random boys?" Levy mused and Lucy shot her a look for her to shut up about the mystery skater boy outside her apartment.

"What? Whattaya mean?" It was too late; Cana's interest was sparked and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so get this. Lucy's practically dropping her panties every time she sees this guy! They're in the same apartment complex, I'm guessing, or he's following you and waiting for you to leave." Levy giggled at Lucy as her face reddened.

"And… What's he like then?" Cana leaned forward, engrossed in Levy's description.

"You know, Lucy's type." Levy winked and Cana smirked. "He's a skater, kinda bad boyish- you know, typical Lucy. They've never spoken a word to each other, but they're mind banging each other for sure."

"Oh my god!" Lucy moaned and Cana choked out a laugh after accidentally inhaling her drink.

"Woo! Lucy's got two guys on her tail! I would expect nothing less from my apprentice." Cana patted Lucy on the head and Lucy pouted taking a long sip of her drink.

" _Guys_ ," Lucy whined, "I'm serious though. I'm afraid that Natsu thinks I'm weird or boring or whatever."

"Trust me, Lucy. He's been telling me how great you are; he really likes you." Lucy's heart fluttered again; she felt slightly guilty for some reason. She liked two guys; Natsu was funny and cute from what she had gotten out of his texts, but skater-boy really got her heart pumping. Lucy melted whenever she saw that cocky little smirk on his lips. It pissed her off to no end that he had her in such a tight grasp and he didn't even know who she was.

"Well… I guess that I'll just see where it goes then. I like talking to him too." Lucy decided and Cana smiled at her.

"Whoa, Lucy! What's it like to have two guys flirting with you then? Kind of exciting!" Levy pondered playfully and Lucy frowned.

"It's not like the guy with the skateboard even knows who I am or has ever talked to me. At least Natsu and I talk on a regular basis." Lucy pointed out and Levy shrugged.

"Hey, maybe you can get together with _both_ of them and get freaky!" Cana suggested triumphantly and Lucy gasped in horror, this time earning a small blush from Levy as well.

" _Cana_!"


	3. Two Girls, Two Guys, One What?

"So, what's your deal, man?" Cana's question disturbed Natsu in his semi-asleep state, her voice breaking through even his headphones that sat shoved over his ears.

"Hm..?" Natsu hummed out, still drowsy and confused. He yawned widely and stretched his arms over his head, slipping his headphones down to his neck where they would sit for the rest of the class. "What?"

"Don't you like Lucy? At least as a friend anyways? Why don't you want to meet her?" Cana's barrage of queries threw him off and Natsu felt uncomfortable under her gaze. _Geez, does she ever lay off?_ Natsu fiddled with his backpack, pulling out his notebook and a pen with a broken cap. He idly started pulling at the perforated strips of paper that had gotten caught in the spiral spine of the notebook, and then finally dragged his green gaze up to meet Cana's.

"Of course." He answered simply and Cana rolled her eyes. Their class was early in the morning and Cana was usually hung over from the previous night. She was either talkative and friendly, maybe a little too friendly for Natsu's liking- he didn't like to remember that one time that she told him he had a _really_ nice ass, but he digressed. Or Cana was a grump and was demanding; it seemed like she was going to be the second from where the morning was going.

"Then why don't you wanna meet her? She's worried you don't like her or something. Like you think she's weird or whatever." Cana shrugged and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Natsu froze for a moment, his heart skipping a little. Lucy was worried about him not liking her? Not possible. Natsu thought Lucy was fantastic, he loved talking to her. And that was saying something because he absolutely despised texting. He wasn't one to text back right away or have his phone at his side twenty-four seven. With Lucy, though, he had found himself texting her back always and keeping their conversations going. It was easy talking to her, it felt like they had known each other for ages. Cana was right, Natsu gave credit to the brunette where it was due, Lucy was definitely a sweet and funny girl. Totally his type, but Natsu was a little conflicted at the moment.

"It's not that I don't want to meet her," Natsu began carefully, Cana's eyes scrutinizing everything that he was saying. He groaned and Cana quirked a brow at him as if to ask, "what the fuck, dude"; Cana had a talent for giving the most judgmental of looks. "This is kind of embarrassing…" This seemed to interest Cana, her frown disappeared and quickly changed into a mischievous smirk.

"C'mon, you can tell me." She purred at him and Natsu swallowed hard. Why the hell should he have to admit something about his personal life to some girl in his class? So what if she set him up with Lucy? Well, Natsu figured if it weren't for the strange, slightly alcoholic girl next to him, he _wouldn't_ have met Lucy.

"Fine, but don't say anything about this, okay?" Natsu warned, his brows scrunching together in a frown. "I like Lucy a lot, but I'm just a little… I don't know, confused."

"What, like, sexually? Been there, done that. I can totally help." Cana waved her hand in front of her absentmindedly and Natsu's eyes widened.

"No!" He choked out receiving a few questioning stares from his other classmates. "Nothing like that… It's just, how do I put it…?"

"Spit it out, boy! I don't have all day." Cana folded her arms and eyed him sternly.

"We have class for an hour and a half…" Natsu reminded her pointlessly and sighed. "I kind of have a _little_ thing for someone else. I don't think it would be fair for me to get Lucy's hopes up if I like someone else." Natsu revealed and Cana's scowl deepened.

"Geez, you think a lot of yourself. You think she's just gonna fall in love with you from meeting you once?" Cana bit back and Natsu breathed in sharply through his nose.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Natsu snapped back and sighed heavily. "I'm happy to have met Lucy, but I never asked you to set me up with anyone… I've seen this other girl around and have had a little crush on her for a while…" He admitted, feeling his face and ears burn with embarrassment. Cana looked up at the ceiling as if she were deep in thought, and nodded a bit.

"Well, I guess that's true… I just don't want you hurting Lucy. She's a good girl." Cana said gently and then looked at him deviously. "And you totally wouldn't deserve her." Cana finished proudly and Natsu fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"I'm not going to hurt her, we're just texting right now. Besides, I'm glad that we became friends. I think that's enough for now." Natsu reasoned and Cana shrugged.

"Sure, sure. It's too bad you've never seen her though because she's hot." Cana stated, a smirk playing at her lips. "Like I said, totally your type."

* * *

Lucy fidgeted in her seat at the campus coffee shop. She was waiting for Levy, Cana, Erza, and Juvia to come meet her there for a little afternoon pick-me-up. She absently scrolled through her laptop, looking at nothing in particular, just trying to pass the time. She knew she was early to meet the girls, but it was better than sitting in her quiet apartment staring down at her phone.

She and Natsu had been talking a lot, but their texts seemed to be dwindling lately and were almost forced. Lucy felt like she had done something or was just bothering him in general, so she decided to just give him some space and had not texted him that day. But when she was alone with her phone, she felt a need to send him a message, yearning for when her phone dinged out a notification of him responding to her. She didn't want to bother him with pointless text messages, so she decided to come to the café early. Her friend, Mira, worked part time at the place anyway and it was nice to see the eldest Strauss sibling.

"Here you go, Lucy!" Mira pattered over to where Lucy was seated by the big bay window and placed a chai tea in front of her. "And this is on the house! You look like you're a little trouble." Her brows creased in worry as she handed Lucy a slice of pumpkin bread, Lucy's favorite, and pat her shoulder.

"Thanks so much, Mira! And I'm fine, it's nothing important!" Lucy responded more cheerily than she felt. She also felt as though she was lying, Natsu was _important_ in a way, so saying that he wasn't just didn't sit right on her tongue.

"Well, if you say so."

"Thank you for your concern though." Lucy smiled slightly at the older girl. "How're Elfman and Lisanna?" Lucy asked, drawing the attention away from herself. The two that Lucy had mentioned were Mira's younger siblings.

"They're great! Elfman is enjoying playing football for the school," Mira informed her as Lucy took a sip of her tea only to realize it was still far too hot to drink. "And Lisanna is busy studying away."

"She should hang out with us sometime!" Lucy offered and Mira smiled down at her.

"I'll let her know, I'm sure she'd love that!"

"That's great to hear that they're both doing well, though." Lucy smiled back. Suddenly, the bell on the door to the café chimed as someone walked in. Lucy looked up happily, figuring it was one of the girls, only to have her breath caught in her throat.

"Hm, he looks familiar…" Mira mused and Lucy clamped her mouth shut. There was the skater from her apartment complex, beanie and septum ring and all. The sleeves of his flannel were rolled up to his elbows to reveal extensive tattoos, on both arms, that stopped at his wrists. His eyes swept over to her, and he momentarily looked surprised to see her also in the café. He stared at her for a moment and then smirked her way, winking at her. Lucy blushed and Mira gave her a questioning look, but said nothing about their interaction.

"Well, back to work!" Mira stated sunnily and made her way back behind the counter to take the mystery boy's order. Lucy strained her ears, listening to his deep and raspy voice. A shiver ran up her spine when she heard him speak; that might have been the first time she really got a good listen to what he sounded like. Her eyes drifted down his broad back and settled on the back of his dark jeans where they clung _nicely_ to his butt. Yes, yes Lucy still wanted to fling him down and do unholy things to him.

Lucy didn't realize how long she had been staring at him until he turned back around, drink in hand, and shot a cunning smile over her way. Lucy's face burned in embarrassment and she hastily went back to busying herself with her computer. She took in a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, and was relieved when, shortly after, the girls began to show up. Erza was first, ever punctual, and happily greeted Lucy before ordering something from Mira.

"Ah, Lucy, it's great to see you!" The red head smiled down at her and Lucy beamed back.

"It definitely feels like it's been too long since we had a girl's day!" Lucy agreed. Levy and Juvia soon filed in and waved to Lucy. Cana dragged herself in, about twenty minutes late, her big sunglasses still resting on her face.

"How nice of you to join us." Lucy giggled at Cana who grumbled something unintelligible at her. It was Cana's early day, Lucy remembered, and she had class right at eight a.m. Cana was not a morning person by any means, and once she was done with her classes for the day, if she didn't get her coffee, she was not one to be trifled with. Finally, Cana came back, large coffee in hand and sunglasses perched on top of her head. She sat down at the table with the other four girls, took a sip of her drink, which Lucy figured would be far too hot but Cana didn't complain, and then smiled up at the group.

"Hello." She managed to greet them and Lucy ignored the bags that were present underneath her friend's eyes. She had more than likely been drinking the previous night.

"How is everyone then?" Erza questioned and the girls nodded or shrugged in return.

"Juvia met the most _handsome_ boy!" Juvia piped up, clasping her hands to her chest. Lucy stifled a giggle; Juvia always fell head over heels with her crushes. She never wanted to see Juvia hurt, but the girl always came on too strong and the boys never stayed long. Lucy hope that Juvia would find the love she was looking for soon. Partly because she didn't think she could take another night of Juvia's drunken sobbing on the floor of her apartment. Why was it that they were always at her apartment?

"Oh?" Erza responded curiously and Juvia nodded.

"Yes, his name is Gray, and he plays for the hockey team."

"Hm, that name sounds familiar…" Lucy mused and Juvia eyed her suspiciously. "What's his last name?"

"Fullbuster… You better not be thinking of going after Gray! Juvia likes Gray." Juvia warned her and Lucy had to stop herself from giggling and shook her head.

"Don't worry, Juvia, I won't. I think he's friends with Natsu." Lucy tapped her chin in thought. "I think that's what he said his friend's name was…"

"Who's Natsu?" Erza queried and Levy snickered.

"One of her boy toys." Levy quipped before Lucy had a chance to get a word out.

" _One_ of them? How many do you have?" Erza asked, an edge of judgement in her voice. Lucy sighed and scowled at Levy who pretended to find her latte very interesting that specific moment.

"I don't have _any boy toys_." Lucy growled out and Cana scoffed earning herself a scowl from Lucy as well. "Natsu is a guy that Cana has class with, we've been talking for a week or so."

"I see…" Erza meditated, swirling her drink in thought.

"How's Jellal?" Lucy asked and Erza's face immediately turned red at the mention of her boyfriend.

"O-oh, he's doing well." Erza replied, fixing the glasses that sat on her nose. Lucy smiled at her friend, giggling slightly. The girl had had the biggest crush on Jellal, and vice versa. They were childhood friends and had _finally_ gotten together in their senior year, after multiple risqué encounters, Lucy might add.

"Lu, I think I saw your other boy walking across the quad right before I came in here!" Levy grinned wickedly at her and Lucy gave her a pointed look. Levy just liked to stir up shit, didn't she?

"Maybe you should try and get with him, Lucy." Cana advised and Lucy looked at her in embarrassment and wonderment.

"Lucy is still Juvia's love rival… But what is it like having two boys?" Juvia growled out the first part, causing Lucy to roll her eyes, and then asked the second with curiosity.

"I _don't_ have two boys. I don't even have _a_ boy." Lucy pointed out and Cana and Levy rolled their eyes. Correction, they _both_ liked to stir up shit. "Anyways, I haven't really talked to Natsu lately." Lucy added on quietly and Cana tutted in what sounded like disapproval.

"Don't talk to him them. Don't waste your time with him, who cares." Cana frowned into her coffee. Lucy felt the change in her tone and eyed Cana suspiciously.

"Why?" She asked curiously and Cana avoided her gaze. " _Cana_."

"I talked to him on Tuesday…" Cana started. Lucy knew that Cana had class with Natsu on Tuesdays and Thursdays, bright and early. It didn't seem like either of the two should be in a class that early, but Lucy divagated. "Wasn't in class today." Cana tacked on and Lucy quirked a brow at her.

" _And_ …?" Lucy drew out her response and Cana huffed. Levy, Erza, and Juvia all seemed to be listening attentively to their conversation about Lucy's 'Natsu character'.

"And he told me some stuff that I don't want to tell you because he's a dick and I can totally kick his ass if you want me to." Cana rambled out hastily and Lucy half laughed and half looked at Cana questioningly.

"What did you talk to him about? Wait, what _did_ you talk to him about?" Lucy reiterated, worried that Cana said something weird to him again.

"All I did was ask him what his deal was and why he hasn't wanted to meet you yet." Lucy groaned, no wonder why Natsu hadn't been talking to her that much lately.

"Cana…"

"He doesn't want to meet you?" Erza sounded puzzled and Lucy shrugged.

"It hasn't really been a thing we've really discussed in depth…" Lucy sighed and Cana frowned. "But what did he say to you then?" Cana fidgeted under the four pairs of eyes that were laid on her. She brushed her hair out of her face and snorted in defeat.

"He said that he does really like you and that you're his friend," Cana began and Lucy's heart fluttered a bit. "But… He said he kind of has a crush on someone else, and has for a while, and I wasn't supposed to tell you yet here we are." Cana finished in a rush and Lucy's face fell a bit. She felt like her hopes crumbled within her body, and she suddenly felt like her limbs were filled with lead.

" _Oh_." Was all that Lucy managed to whisper out and Cana's gaze softened as she gave Lucy a look of sympathy.

"He's not worth you getting upset over, Lucy." Cana told her gently and Lucy gave her a small smile.

"It's okay, it's not like I expected much from it anyways. People have crushes, it's no big deal." Lucy tried to push out a laugh, but it just sounded like she was choking a bit.

"Why don't we all go out this weekend? Just us." Erza suggested and the girls perked up a bit. "We haven't in a while, it'll be nice to spend some time together."

"Yeah, definitely!" Levy agreed and Juvia smiled brightly. Lucy appreciated that they were trying to cheer her up. Lucy couldn't allow herself to be too upset, it's not like her and Natsu actually had something going on. But why did it make Lucy hurt so much knowing that he liked someone else? It felt like someone had quite literally punched her in the stomach, her stomach felt like it was in a knot and her heart felt like it was being squeezed. She had never even met Natsu, yet he had this much of an effect on her?

"Yeah," Lucy tried her best to sound enthusiastic, but it was weak at best. "That will be fun."

* * *

"Wake. The fuck. Up." Natsu groaned and was awoken by Gray, of all assholes, shoving a finger into his cheek. He blearily cracked open his eyes and blindly swung at Gray who leapt back, a scowl on his face. "What the hell?"

"'What the hell' to you! Why are you waking me up?" Natsu whined and Gray rolled his eyes. Gray was a pain is his ass, but also Natsu's roommate and friend. Even though they fought a decent amount, Natsu knew that he could always count on Gray to have his back. And also to annoy the shit out of him when he was in a perfectly fine sleeping state, apparently.

"Because it's almost eight o'clock and you've slept the better part of Saturday away…?" Gray dragged out his sentence making Natsu sound like an idiot.

"It's eight o'clock, what the fuck?!" The last think Natsu remembered was waking up, eating breakfast, feeding Happy, taking a _nice_ , if you know what I mean, shower, and apparently after all of that, passing back out again. "Holy fuck."

"Yeah, we're going out with everyone, remember?" Gray folded his arms and sighed in annoyance.

"I remember… _Now._ " Natsu groaned and Gray rolled his eyes again.

"Well, get up. Though I'd rather just leave your ass here." Gray grumbled and started walking away from Natsu, mumbling something about 'should've just left him here'. Natsu sighed and sat up on his bed, Happy curled up at the end of it. He 'sniff tested' a couple shirts before settling on a plain black one, and pulled a pair of dark jeans with some rips in the knees probably from one of his fights with Gajeel or Gray. Natsu pet Happy on the head, who purred loudly in response, and shuffled on his black vans, tying off his look with his signature, dragon scale-like scarf.

"Come on! We're going to meet Gajeel and Loke downtown at _Fairy Tail_." Gray called from down the hall. Natsu grunted in response, swiped some deodorant on, and gave himself a spray of cologne before heading out of his disheveled room.

"Comin'." Natsu muttered out as he met Gray at the door of their apartment. The duo headed out down the street towards their regular bar, _Fairy Tail._ It was about a fifteen-minute walk, which wasn't bad, and if they really wanted to drink, they could always call an Uber. The night air was chilly even though it was spring. Spring meant school was almost done, and with school almost done, that meant summer and not having to worry about shitty homework or exams or eight a.m. classes with mildly nosy girls in it. Natsu loved warmer weather anyway, he hated being cold. Gray, on the other hand, was some type of freak who longed for snowy and icy weather. Who the hell wants to freeze their balls off walking to class in snow up to your knees? Not Natsu.

It took them no time to walk into downtown and find Loke and Gajeel loitering outside the bar. Gajeel's permanent scowl and Loke's smug look behind his glasses greeted them _cheerily_.

"Yo." Natsu addressed the other two guys; Gajeel grunted and Loke nodded at them. "Hope you guys picked a good night to come because I was perfectly _fine_ sleeping." Natsu grumbled and Gray scoffed.

"More like you passed out from overexertion." Gray eyed him mischievously. "Maybe cool down on the jerking off all the time and you wouldn't be so tired." Natsu's ears burned in embarrassment, he hadn't thought Gray had been home earlier that morning, not that he was loud or anything, but Natsu was sure that an hour long shower might've been the giveaway. The two other boys snickered in response and Natsu shoved Gray.

"Shut up!" Natsu barked and Gray laughed.

"I think you need to get laid instead of just tailing some girl that doesn't know you exist." Loke advised as they pushed their way into the bar. "Which, by the way, if you don't do something with that girl, I'll happily make a move." Natsu growled in warning and Loke just smirked at him. Natsu knew Loke wasn't bluffing, whether the girl would give him the time of day or not, Loke would still try to get with her. The bar, well, it was more like a club since it was so close to the college's campus, was busy. Sweaty bodies gyrated to the pulsing music that was bumping from multiple speakers around the room. Natsu never was really one for dancing, that is unless he was shit faced. He was also known to strip, but he blamed that on the face that he lives with Gray. Definitely Gray's disgusting habit. Gajeel looked about as happy to be there as Natsu felt, and he had a feeling that Loke had dragged Gajeel out much like Gray had done with him.

"I wonder where Gramps is." Natsu pondered referring to the bar's owner, a friend of the boys. Gramps, or Makarov, was their friend, Laxus', grandfather. Hence the reason why the boys frequented the bar so often. He usually would slip them a few free drinks and, in return, they would make sure no one was acting shady or doing any stupid shit in the bar.

"Dunno." Gajeel grunted, his eyes scanning the crowd of people almost eagerly.

"Looking for someone?" Gray commented and Gajeel's eyes immediately snapped away from the crowd.

"Nope." Came the defiant response and Gray snickered. Natsu felt like he missed something, but shrugged it off. It wasn't long before Loke was off trying to pick up girls, he was a self-proclaimed 'playboy', and thought he had some kind of gift with picking up women. Natsu thought that most of the girls he talked to looked like they were just trying to be nice, but what did he know. Natsu hadn't had any type of relationship since his early days in college, and he didn't really care to strike up one just out of the blue. He had learned his lesson early on about awkward one night stands. They were awkward and, if Natsu really had to admit it, too impersonal for his taste. If he was going to be in a relationship and put effort into something, it might as well be with someone he actually likes.

"Ah, crap…" Gray suddenly cursed under his breath and Natsu looked over at him in confusion. Gray gestured lazily over to a group of girls, and Natsu squinted to see who he was pointing to. "See that girl with the long blue hair? Yeah, keep her away from me, she's nuts."

"That's Juvia." Gajeel muttered and turned a stony stare on Gray. "I went to high school with her." Gray frowned and shrugged slightly.

"Well, she seems to think that we're in some type of relationship because I helped her pick up her dropped books. She had crazy eyes." Gray explained and Natsu snorted.

"Crazy eyes?" He questioned and Gray shuddered.

"Yeah, as in bat shit crazy. Like, she'll glue my balls to my legs if I cross her the wrong way kinda crazy."

"… Interesting…" Natsu chuckled slightly and flicked his gaze over to where the girl Gray was talking about was. She shifted, and just for a moment, Natsu caught sight of _her_. His palms immediately started to sweat, and he swallowed hard. His heart beat started to quicken, and for just a moment, their eyes locked from across the room. Natsu tugged at his scarf and averted his eyes down at the ground in embarrassment.

"What's with you- _oh_!" Gray asked and suddenly broke out into laughter. "I see." Gray's eyes drifted to where Natsu had been fixated on and smirked knowingly. "That's her. That's the girl you think about when you jerk off."

"Shut the fuck up, Gray!" Natsu warned and Gajeel looked at them curiously.

"Natsu is totally and completely in deep with that blonde over there." Gray informed him and Natsu glared at his friend.

"Don't fucking point you asshole!" Natsu slapped his hand down; he was sure that his face was crimson by now.

"Hm." Gajeel nodded. "More interested in the little blue haired one though, gihi." Gajeel snickered, that was the most emotion the pierced brute had given all night.

"Ah, so _that's_ who _you_ were looking for." Gray smirked at Gajeel who sent him a blood curdling glare. "Anyway, Natsu, you look pathetic. You've done this all year; just fucking go talk to her."

"No." Natsu pouted in defiance and sighed in defeat.

"You're right, she's way out of your league." Loke commented, walking over to the group. "Let someone, me, who's in her league go talk care of her." He started to walk towards the group of girls only to be caught by the collar by Natsu, and be dragged back.

"Don't even think about it!" Natsu hissed and Loke rolled his eyes though didn't make another attempt to approach them.

"This is why you need to get laid. So uptight." Gray snorted and Natsu glared at him. Natsu _would_ go talk to her, if he actually had the guts to, but he'd never admit that to the other guys. But something else bugged him and kept him away from perusing the beautiful blonde at the bar that he saw outside of his apartment almost every day. And that something was _Lucy_. Something about the girl, though he had never met her, intrigued him. He had had it _bad_ for the girl in the bar for the better part of this school year, but once he started talking to Lucy, he was starting to have a different type of feeling towards the girl behind his phone. He _really_ like Lucy and loved talking to her. She was funny and kind and always kept things interesting. That scared him, admittedly, and he had shied away from texting her the past couple of days. She probably thought he was an asshole. Natsu slipped his phone out of his pocket and eyed the last message sent to him from Lucy.

" _Hey, how are you? I hope you're doing well, Cana said you didn't show up to class yesterday morning and I just wanted to make sure you're okay. Er… that sounds kind of creepy, sorry… Either way, hope you're okay!_ "

Natsu inwardly groaned, she was always so thoughtful, and he was an ass and a half for not texting her back. Damn… He _never_ had more than one girl at a time, not that he praised that kind of behavior, but he had never felt this way before about any of the girls he had been with before. Lucy and the girl at the bar were something else and he was having a damn hard time trying to figure out what he was supposed to do with his feelings for both of them. He was sure that Gray and Loke would tell him to sleep with both of them and decide after, but that was horrible… Well, that would be more so Loke's advice since that was the guy's tactics… Gray just wanted him to get laid so he'd stop being 'whiney'. Natsu sighed again and tapped out a message to Lucy.

" _Hey, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner… I'm fine! Thanks for worrying about me haha you're a worry wart aren't you?_ "

 **A/N: Look for chapter 4 within the next day or so! Don't forget to leave a review please! Thank you!**


	4. Just friends, right?

Natsu's phone went off almost instantly after he texted Lucy back; she was good like that. He felt guilty about giving her the cold shoulder the past few days because she responded saying that he shouldn't worry about it and that it was totally okay, everyone needs a break. Natsu hastily shoved his phone in his pocket and brought his attention back to his group of friends; he might as well have fun on his night out, right? That was if Loke didn't get himself slapped by some girl or Gray didn't get too tipsy.

Makarov found them shortly after they had entered the bar; he was red in the face from the alcohol he was no doubt consuming. The short little Russian man always drank like a fish. That was probably the reason why he didn't notice _just_ how many free drinks he was giving to the boys. Makarov tottered over behind the bar and told the girls working in that their drinks were on the house. Natsu felt nervous being so close to the blonde down the other end of the bar, but he sucked it up and took a seat between Gray and Gajeel. One of the girls, a tall brunette with big eyes, placed a beer in front of each of them. When she got to Natsu she fluttered her eyelashes and winked. He smiled cordially and thanked her. He was no stranger to girls flirting with him, he _apparently_ was quite the heartbreaker back in high school, but that was just what Lisanna had told him. She was a hopeless romantic and loved to tell him whenever a girl had a crush on him. He hadn't really paid much attention to girls up until his college years, but he didn't think he missed much. Natsu had had a handful of "exes" since he came to Magnolia University, but can you really call a month here and a month there a relationship?

"So, how do you guys know Maky?" The brunette broke through Natsu's thoughts and he was a little perturbed, he really wasn't up for conversation at the moment nor up for the terrible nickname the girl had given Makarov.

"He's our friend's grandfather." Gray answered, taking a swig of his beer. "Good guy." The girl nodded animatedly as if whatever Gray was saying was the most important thing in the world. Geez, how desperate was this girl? Natsu snorted quietly and shared an eye roll with Gajeel who was successfully ignoring the girl in front of them. The other bartender shot her coworker a dirty look as she took on more customers than need be, and then called to her, Natsu didn't catch her name and he didn't care, to come help her with the onslaught of orders. The girl ruefully dragged herself away from the boys and Natsu felt like he could relax a little more. Makarov had teetered off to the upper level where his "private courters" were, Natsu shuddered at the thought of what went on up there, he didn't dare ever ask.

Suddenly, Natsu felt a poke in his ribs and he turned harshly, it had made him choke on his beer. His eyes blazed, ready give Gray a punch in the side of his jaw, but he stopped when he saw who it actually was.

"Hey, _buddy_!" Cana crooned from behind his stool and Natsu relaxed a bit, though he felt a little annoyed at being bothered. Does the girl ever take a break? He thought not considering she seemed to already be drunk and bothering him. Of course he really did like Cana, she was an interesting companion and it made his eight o'clock class just a _little_ less shitty, and that was saying something considering Macao's lessons were always a little boring.

"Hey, what's up? Didn't see you here before." Natsu told her and she cracked a smile.

"I'm just over there with some of my friends." Cana informed him, jerking her head towards the group of girls that had the blue haired girl that Gray was afraid of. "We thought we'd go out tonight." She sighed and sipped at some sort of clear drink he guessed to be a margarita. Natsu smiled and began to answer her only to stop dead in his tracks, choking on his words, as he put two and two together. Cana was friends with _her_. They were in the same group, he was friends with _her_!

"W-wait, you're friends with that girl over there?" Natsu stammered out and Cana looked at him curiously. "The blonde?"

"Huh, oh yeah!" Cana smiled, "That's L-" Natsu was hasty and cut his friend off.

"That's her, that's the girl I was telling you about!" Natsu told her quickly and something like shock flitted in Cana's eyes. But if it was, it was quickly gone, almost too fast for Natsu to be sure that he even saw it. Her look was replaced by the shit eating grin that Cana usually sported. "C-can you introduce me?" Cana deliberated for a moment, sipping her drink slowly, purposefully dragging out the answer to his question.

"Hm… You wanna meet her?" Cana simpered and Natsu frowned slightly, his heart banging in his chest. " _Really bad_?"

"Yes!" Natsu blurted out before he had a chance to think. The girl was his dream girl practically, to put it clichély. Of fucking course he wanted to meet her. He soon felt guilty though, Lucy still sat in the back of his mind, definitely not forgotten. "B-but… Lucy…" He almost whimpered out; girls had never had him this fucked up. There it was again, Cana's eyes flashing mischievously, a knowing look etched in her features.

"Mm… I could do that. But what about Lucy?" Cana murmured, a smirk quivering at the corner over her mouth.

"I'm not saying I'm gonna date this girl… But I've seen her for so long, it would be great to finally talk to her. I haven't actually had the guts to talk to her…" He admitted sheepishly and Cana snorted.

"No balls!" Cana declared and let out a cackled. Natsu glared, slightly ducking into his scarf for comfort. There was truth to her words though, he truly _didn't_ have the balls to go talk to the blonde and he felt pathetic trying to go through one of her friends. He had never had this much of a problem with girls before. It was something that should be easy, he figured, but he did suppose that if it was just supposed to be something casual and for one night, then it would be easy. Getting a great girl would take time and effort and wouldn't be easy, but he was okay with that. If it meant he got to talk to the mystery blonde, who he _just couldn't_ help smiling and winking at because it made her flustered, then he would do anything.

"Hello, beautiful." Came a voice from behind Cana and Natsu growled at the intrusion. He was so close and _this dick_ had to go and interrupt them. "Natsu, aren't you going to introduce me?" Loke questioned and eyed Cana who gave him a slight scowl and a reproachful glance.

"Loke, not now." Natsu grumbled and his friend pushed his glasses further up his nose in response. "Cana doesn't wanna-" Cana cut him off, waving her hand hap hazardously in his face.

"Nuh, nuh, nuh, I got this Natsu." Cana dismissed him, down the rest of her drink, and seemingly snuggled up real close to Loke's chest. She took her finger and slowly dragged it up his chest, stopping when she got below his chin. Loke swallowed, his throat bobbing in nervousness, and Cana dragged his face down so it was millimeters from her own face. She smiled impishly, and ran her thumb over his bottom lip. "Not even in your dreams, sweetheart. And if I am in your dreams, I'm gonna shove my foot straight up your ass. We're talking here." Cana murmured out dangerously, a smirk never leaving her lips. Loke's eyes widened and he shot Natsu a look of something like terror.

"W-who the hell are you friends with, Natsu?" Loke whispered out and then backed away, his hands in the air. Admittedly, Natsu felt bad for Loke. Outside of his "lady killer" persona, he was actually a decent guy and really smart too. He's helped Natsu on more than one occasion with particularly tricky homework. Natsu sent him a vague apologetic look and turned his attention back to Cana who was giggling like mad.

"Thank… You?" Natsu said in almost a question and Cana clapped her hands together. God, she was fucking terrifying.

"Okay, yes, yes. I can help ya meet my friend over there, but what's in it for me?" Cana quirked a brow at him, mischievousness practically pulsing off of her.

"Free… alcohol…?" Natsu asked and her eyes widened and she perked up even more.

"Really? You can do that?"

"Yeah, easy. The guy who owns this place is a friend of mine's grandpa. Consider it done." Natsu shrugged cockily and Cana grinned devilishly.

"Sounds like a deal. Just one more thing," Cana seemed to sober up a little and stared straight up into his eyes. "I want you to treat both of my friends well, that includes Lucy. I don't want you going and breaking her heart, not that she's head over heels for you because you never even gave her the time of day to meet her." Cana's eyes flashed and guilt wracked through him.

"Lucy and I can still be friends even if something does happen between me and your other friend." Natsu told her and Cana seemed to frown slightly.

"Alright, just make sure she knows you want to be 'just friends' then." Cana warned and Natsu nodded and Cana saluted him in a weird goodbye, and headed back to her friends. Natsu's excitement bubbled in his chest, the thought of actually meeting the girl in his apartment complex made him feel giddy.

"So… What the hell was that about?" Gray suddenly asked, Natsu had momentarily forgotten that his other two friends were sitting next to him.

"None of your damn business." Natsu hummed out and Gray snorted while Gajeel seemed disinterested.

" _Someone_ sounds like a little kid in love." Gray commented and Natsu aimed a flick of his hand at Gray's beer causing it to spill a little on his shirt. He cursed Natsu out, but Natsu was in too much of a good mood to truly be bothered by it, and threw his head back, laughing loudly.

* * *

"Hey, where'd you go?" Lucy questioned amusedly as Cana returned to their group. Cana flashed a smile at them and just shrugged.

"I saw someone from class and just went to say hi." She informed them and ordered another margarita, slapping ten dollars on the bar.

"Anyone we know?" Erza asked curiously and Cana shook her head.

"Nah." Lucy hummed in response, enjoying her friends' company.

"Hey, thank you guys for coming out with me, I feel a lot better." Lucy smiled at her friends and the four other girls lifted their glasses to her. "Sorry for being so silly, who cares if Natsu doesn't like me, it's not like we were a thing anyway." Lucy laughed lightly and she thought Cana whispered something that sounded suspiciously like ' _yet_ ', but she brushed it off.

"Juvia is glad that Lucy is feeling much better!" Juvia chimed in and Levy nodded.

"Yeah, Lu! I hate to see you down. Don't let any stupid boys get to your head!" Levy smiled at her and Lucy squeezed her hand.

"Yes, you have the best friends right here." Erza gave a warm smile, nodding her head in approval.

"I really do, don't I?" Lucy giggled and took a sip of her drink. Yes, she did have great friends, and if that's all that her and Natsu were to be, then so be it. Maybe she would talk to that skater boy inside her apartment complex…

* * *

Natsu decided that maybe asking Cana for help with girls might _not_ have been one of his best ideas, but he hadn't had much of a choice. She had ribbed him about it all week while simultaneously made sure that he wasn't being a 'dick' to Lucy. Which he was not, thank you very much. He and Lucy had had great conversation, and they both seemed to be on the same page friendship-wise. They fell into comfortable conversation at night and were perfectly okay if either of them went a day or so without talking. They talked about anything and everything, and Natsu felt really happy to have her in his life. She was a really great friend and he was glad that she seemed to understand his predicament. Not that _he_ brought it up, she actually did later one night. He was surprised that she had said something, and also cursed Cana that night, but it was surprisingly not awkward to talk to Lucy about it.

" _Hey, sorry if this sounds weird… and don't get mad at Cana, but she told me that you like someone, and I just want you to know that's totally okay! Er, not that you need my permission…. But_ _Cana did have us text each other in a whim, so it's not like I expected us to hook up or anything haha wait that came out wrong…_ "

Natsu had snorted out a laugh by the end of it; he loved how honest Lucy was, and he had truly poured his heart out to her in replying.

" _Wow, well, I do feel like I need to brutally murder Cana, but when do I not? But… Thank you for understanding… I'm sorry if that made anything weird for you… But I just want you to know that I'm really happy to have you as a friend :)_ "

" _When do I not want to murder Cana? Haha and no, def not weird. I'm glad that we can talk about it… I completely understand :)_ "

Natsu had breathed a sigh of relief that their conversation went so well, and he was sure Cana was somewhere sneezing… After that, he and Lucy talked frequently; he even planned to ask Lucy if she wanted to hang out at some point, but at the moment he was preoccupied with Cana's plan for him to meet the girl from his apartment.

"Hey," Cana poked at his cheek and broke him from his thoughts. His head was resting on his folded arms, bulky headphones shoved over his ears. He wasn't actually listening to any music anymore, he just wasn't ready to start his day. Natsu pretended not to notice her at first, but she always persisted, so he eventually dragged his headphones down to his neck and shifted his gaze to meet Cana's violet eyes. "I've thought more about this plan." She informed him, and Natsu perked up slightly.

"Okay, what's up?"

"Okay, so you know where she lives, obviously. You two live in the same complex." Cana stated the obvious and continued. "She's got this little white dog, named Plue, who she adores. If he ever were to, I don't know, run out of her apartment… Well, she'd just about freak out and have a conniption." Cana laughed lightly and Natsu eyed her in confusion.

"And… How does this have to do with me meeting her?" Natsu asked slowly and Cana beamed at him excitedly.

"Oh, I don't know… Everything?" She huffed vaguely and Natsu rolled his eyes.

" _Enlighten me_." He asked her exasperatedly and Cana laughed at his expression.

"I'm going to _accidentally_ let Plue out of her apartment and you're going to be there to stop him." Cana said as if it were obvious. "She's going to freak out, but you'll get to be the hero. You save the dog, she's super thankful, wing bang boom! You're in her bed!" Cana threw her hands up and Natsu grimaced, they were getting weird stares from their classmates again.  
"U-um, that's a great plan and all, but I don't think that normal human beings just throw themselves into bed with a stranger." Natsu poked fun at Cana, but it seemed to go over her head. "Anyway, I guess that could work. Just tell me when to be there…"

"Great! I'll talk to Lucy and we'll make plans. I'll let you know what's up." Cana promised him and he grinned at her.

"Thanks."

* * *

Lucy was scrolling through the pictures she took with the girls the previous weekend, smiling down at the captured memories. She was just about through when she got to one that was a group shot of them, all smiles up at the camera. It wasn't them that caught her eye, it was what was in the background, or more like _who_ was in the background. She spread her fingers out across the screen of her phone, zooming in, and sure enough, she was right.

"I _knew_ I saw him there!" Lucy squeaked out and Levy dragged her gaze up from the book she was reading to look at Lucy curiously.

"Hm?"

"O-oh, sorry. I was just looking at our pictures from last weekend, and look…" Lucy passed her phone to her friend who squinted at it, looking at the picture. "I thought I saw him at the bar, but look! There's the skater guy!" Lucy pointed out excitedly and Levy bit her lip and nodded.

"Yeah, that's definitely him! Aw, too bad you guys weren't closer, you could have talked to him!" Levy pouted and Lucy's heart fluttered.

"I don't know if I would have been able to…" She admittedly sadly and Levy sighed.

"Girl, you need to woman up!" Levy scolded her, shaking her small finger in her face. "If you like him, you should talk to him! Don't let a little nervousness get in your way!"

"Is that why _you_ are avoiding the coffee shop where that pierced buff guy works?" Lucy snickered sarcastically and watched as Levy's face went red.

"Th-that's different!" Levy stammered and Lucy rolled her eyes.

" _Sure._ " Levy sniffed in response and found her book _very_ interesting again suddenly. Lucy snorted softly and eyed the picture once more. It was then that Cana appeared beside Lucy's chair, and startled her slightly. "Cana? What are you doing here, you never come to the library." Lucy laughed and Cana shrugged.

"First time for everything, right?" Cana laughed a bit louder than she should have receiving a few grumpy stares in response. "Nah, I just came to ask you when you'd be free to hang out?"

"Oh, hm…" Lucy thought for a moment, it wasn't unusual for Cana to spring plans on her and she rather liked the company. It got lonely in her apartment sometimes. "How about Friday night? Levy, you wanna come too?"

"I told Jet and Droy that I'd hang out with them Friday, but you two have fun!" Levy responded cheerily and Cana nodded.

"Okay, Friday it is! How about around six?"

"That sounds good to me! What do you want to do? I'll probably be catching up on some homework for a while, but you're more than welcome to join me." Lucy told her and Cana smiled.

"Yeah, we'll do whatever. Maybe we can order a pizza and watch a movie or something?" Cana shrugged and Lucy appreciated that she could _sometimes_ be domestic and not 'black out drunk Cana' for a little while. Lucy loved her either way, but sometimes she preferred the latter.

"Great!" Lucy smiled and Cana looked eager, suddenly taking out her phone and typing rapidly. Lucy thought it was odd that she would immediately go text someone after talking to her, but Lucy brushed it off as Cana's usual behavior. The brunette then bid them a goodbye, she wanted to go pass out for a while, she had had an early start to her day. Lucy laughed lightly and went back to scribbling notes in her journal- what she was doing before she had started looking at her pictures and spotting the disgustingly hot skater guy. Lucy silently begged herself to work up the courage to talk to him, but it would be awkward if he didn't feel the same way. Maybe he was just being nice to her? Maybe he was actually making fun of her and didn't actually think she was pretty? The second option caused Lucy's face to drop, she had a habit of overthinking things and working herself up. She sighed to herself and shook her head trying to rid the thoughts from her mind. Maybe she should just take a break from worrying herself over boys, after all, she didn't go to college to be a doe eyed school girl…


	5. Collision

" _This god damn dog_ " Natsu's phone vibrated in his pocket, lighting up with a message from Cana. He was, in his opinion, _creepily_ lurking outside of their apartment complex waiting to get the signal from Cana that the girl's dog had been let out.

" _What's wrong?_ " Natsu typed back, his hands shaky and slick with sweat from nerves. The three little dots that let him know Cana was typing instantly popped up, and he waited anxiously for her reply. What he was doing to meet this girl was _certainly_ not conventional, and he would never admit to anyone besides Cana, that they had planned this elaborate mess.

" _He's so fucking lazy that he won't even go outside._ " Natsu couldn't help but chuckle at the dog's demeanor, but was instantly frustrated that their plan wasn't working.

" _What are you going to do then?_ "

" _I don't think this is going to work. We'll have to figure something else out. I've been standing at the door for like twenty minutes trying to get Plue to come out, but he won't._ " Natsu could almost _feel_ the anger coming off of Cana's text and he was stifling a smile imagining the brunette angrily beckoning a dog to try and shove it outside only for the mutt to stare back at her lazily. Natsu had to admit, it was a funny scene to picture, and it was such an obscure plan that he wasn't surprised that it had failed.

" _No worries. We'll figure it out. Thanks anyways._ " Natsu sent back and jogged up the steps of the apartment complex and headed to his and Gray's room. He idly wondered which room number the girl was in, and it was completely frustrating that Cana _refused_ to tell him the girl's name. Natsu decided, after a while, that he would call her _Princess_ , but that was only in his mind of course. If Gray got a hold of that information all hell would break loose with the guys, and he did _not_ want to have to deal with the teasing and, sub sequentially, the ass beatings followed by said teasing. It was exhausting having a crush and Natsu certainly didn't have them often. It was like when he was back in high school and everyone thought that he and Lisanna were flirting all the time and were going to date. It was completely ridiculous and quite frankly, Natsu was a little weirded out by the whole thing. Lisanna was like a sister to him and _she_ may have joked about stuff like that, but that's all it was, a joke. She fed off of teasing like that and liked to egg them all on. Natsu just snorted at it and called it a waste of energy. Who the fuck cares who's dating who? He was tired of people always snooping into his business.

Natsu pushed open the door to his apartment, turning the key in the sticky lock and jiggling it a little. He was about to call out to Gray, but ended up jumping out of his skin when the guy in question was standing right behind the door.

"Holy fuck!" Natsu yelped and Gray quirked a brow at him.

"Startle you?" Gray questioned smugly, a smirk playing on his lips, and Natsu glared at him.

"A little, yeah! What the hell are you doin' lurking around the doorway?"

"I wasn't _lurking_ , this is my apartment too you know." Gray scoffed and Natsu rolled his eyes. "Actually, I wanted to know why _you_ were the one lurking." Natsu frowned, unsure of what Gray was talking about.

"What?"

"Why were you hanging around in the parking lot? I walked right by you and it looked like you didn't even notice me. You looked like you were waiting for someone." Gray interrogated and Natsu swallowed hard.

"Geez, enough with the third degree!" Natsu snapped and Gray snickered.

"What? Did I touch a nerve?" Gray taunted and placed a lazy stare on Natsu as he shut the door behind him. "I bet it was that girl you're always stalking."

"I don't stalk her!" Natsu protested and Gray lit up, grinning widely.

"Told you! So, what is it, are you guys sneaking around behind my back?" Gray kept his grin up even though Natsu was glowering at him.

"I'm not doing anything." Natsu muttered and shouldered past Gray towards his room. "Asshole."

"I'm not gonna tell anyone." Gray quickly grabbed Natsu's shoulder and stopped him from walking. Natsu thought about punching Gray in the jaw, wouldn't be the first time, but decided to hear him out for the moment.

"Yeah, _sure_." Natsu scoffed and Gray's grin dropped.

"I'm serious. Just because I think you're a dick doesn't mean I'm gonna just prance around telling everyone I know about it. I mean geez, Natsu, I've noticed for _months_ that you and that blonde girl have some sort of thing, and I haven't said a word about it."

"That's a load of shit, the other night you pointed her out at the bar to Gajeel and Loke!" Natsu pointed out and Gray's eyes widened.

"Alright, I pre-gamed a little while you were asleep, I was a bit tipsy, but if it matters that much to you I really won't say anything else about it. I promise." Gray sounded sincere but Natsu was guarded. "You want leverage, don't you?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do." Natsu crossed his arms and stared at Gray sternly.

"Name your price then."

"I get to punch you whenever I want, wherever I want if you breathe a word about this." Gray deliberated for a moment and then grudgingly nodded in agreement. "I don't get why this is so important to you though."

"Because you're my friend, unfortunately, and if you wanna talk about something I'll be here." Gray stated nicely and it threw Natsu off. "And… Maybe since the girl is friends with that blue haired chick, I figure you might be able to help me out once you guys start talking." Gray chuckled and Natsu blanched.

"Are you serious? You said she was crazy!"

"Yeah, well, call me a freak, but I _might_ be into it a bit." Gray rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment and Natsu let out a loud guffaw causing Happy, who had been sleeping peacefully on the couch, to leap up and look wildly around the room.

"Ha, you are a freak!" Natsu gasped out in between laughs and Gray grimaced.

"I'm _not_ fucking weirdly kinky or something, shut the hell up! I didn't mean it like that." Gray snapped and Natsu wiped his eyes ridding the tears that had welled up in his fit of laughter. "By the way, same rules apply to you- don't go spreading that around about me and that girl or I get to do the same to you." Gray warned and Natsu shrugged.

"Sure, whatever man." Natsu waved his hand in the air nonsensically as he turned and walked to his room.

"Hey, tell me about what was going on today though!" Gray called and Natsu pretended not to hear him. At least for the moment.

* * *

Lucy was confused; Cana had gone to the bathroom almost _twenty_ minutes earlier and _still_ hadn't come back yet. She was concerned that Cana might actually be really sick; perhaps all of the alcohol was finally getting to her?

"Cana? Hey, are you okay?" Lucy called and Cana popped up from around the corner startling Lucy making her jump back in surprise.

"Yo!" Cana greeted her and shoved her phone into her bra. "Sorry, I had to talk to someone about, er… A group project!" Cana grinned and Lucy frowned slightly.

"Okay… Do you want to watch that movie now?" Lucy suggested and Cana nodded her head enthusiastically. "Great! Come on, Plue!" Lucy called to the little white dog that was snoozing in her kitchen; he popped right up, wagging his tail happily, and trotted over. Lucy could have _sworn_ that she heard Cana muttering something about being a 'traitor' and cursing at Plue, but she ignored it. "I assume more wine?"

* * *

Lucy huffed and shoved her phone back into her bag. She was on edge a bit because of finals coming up and staying up until three o'clock in the morning trying to cram as much information into her brain didn't help. It had also been a few days since she had had a real conversation with Natsu and she was starting to think that it was a dead end. Lucy was seriously entertaining the idea of just going and talking to the guy on the skateboard with the septum ring, but that was still up in the air. Levy kept nagging her about it and Cana kept asking her about Natsu to which Lucy would always pout. Cana never looked as though that bothered her, she looked more mischievous if anything, but Lucy just pegged it as Cana being Cana.

Lucy was making her way to the library, it was Saturday and she was taking a little bit of a break from studying. All she wanted to do was go and find a nice book to check out so she could snuggle up with it later and have a quiet evening. She even had plans of divulging in her own writing and continuing on with a bit more of her novel. Lucy smiled to herself, sighed, and closed her eyes allowing the sun to wash over her face.

"Lu!" Lucy's eyes popped back open to see Levy running towards her smiling. "Heading back up to the library?"

"Yep! Wanna join me?"

"Is that even a question?" Levy scoffed, a smile on her face. Suddenly, her friend's eyes widened in fear. "Lucy, look out!" Just as Levy shouted to her, Lucy heard a panicked voice from behind her.

"Oh shit, shit, shit! Look out!" Lucy didn't have time to react, the owner of said voice slammed into her _hard_ knocking her to the ground, luckily on the grassy patch in front of an apartment building.

"Ugh…" Lucy groaned and she could vaguely hear Levy's concerned yells coming closer. "What the…?" Lucy cracked open her eyes and found the skateboarder guy, having _skateboarded_ right into her, on top of her, his head on her chest. Lucy's face burned, momentarily forgetting about her throbbing head and scrapped elbows. "Ah, get off!" Lucy scooted herself from underneath the boy only to have white hot pain surge up through her right leg. Lucy let out a scream, which surprised her and the boy who had scrambled up, his beanie lopsided so that more of his unruly _pink_ hair stuck out.

"Oh my fuck, are you okay?"

"You son of a- oh, shit. What the hell did you do you idiot?" Lucy flicked her gaze up to the newcomer, who seemed to have been chasing the guy in front of her. He was in nothing but black boxers patterned with blue snowflakes.

"Why are you naked..?" Lucy groaned out and the boy in front of her, though looking increasingly concerned, laughed almost hysterically.

"He's a pervert." Lucy heard the boy respond and managed to catch a glimpse of Levy's small frame running towards her before slipping into unconsciousness.

* * *

"What the hell, dude? You said you wanted to get to know her, not _kill_ her!" The first thing Lucy heard as she started to wake up was Cana's angry voice berating someone. "You're an idiot!"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" A familiar voice responded and Lucy realized Cana was yelling at the boy who had collided into her. Lucy was about to tell Cana to ease up, but Levy's face popped in front of hers.

"You're awake!" Levy exclaimed excitedly and Lucy managed to crack a smile. Her right leg was in less pain, but she also felt a little out of it, so she assumed it was because of pain killers. Her head her and she had bandages on her elbows; she glanced down at her leg and realized she had a white cast from her knee down.

"I don't know if I want to be…" Lucy complained and Levy shook her head.

"Hey, it's better than what I thought! I thought you passed out due to a concussion… I'm glad it's just a broken leg!"

"Hey, you're okay!" Cana suddenly rushed over smiling down at Lucy.

"Just barely… I feel like a truck hit me."

"Close enough." Came a new voice and Lucy looked up to see the boy who had been in just his underwear. "Natsu's pretty much a dense idiot so I'm not surprised you feel that way." The boy with the pink hair behind him glared at him and then looked sheepishly down at Lucy.

"Hey, I'm so sor-"

"WAIT!" Lucy suddenly gasped and started to scooch herself up into a better sitting position. " _Natsu_?"

"Y-yeah?" Came his reply and Lucy's eyes widened.

"Oh my god… _Cana_!" Lucy placed a burning stare on her friend, and growled at her through gritted teeth. Cana suddenly found the walls to be quite interesting and busied herself with looking around the room. " _You knew_!"

"Eh… The details are a little questionable on _what_ exactly I _knew_." Cana chuckled nervously and Levy looked at them curiously.

"Er… I'm Gray by the way… Sorry about being in my underwear." Gray grinned embarrassedly.

"Right, you're Gray Fullbuster. You strip a lot and are roommate with Natsu. You guys fight a lot and do martial arts together." Lucy stated almost like an angry robot. Gray seemed more than a little creeped so Lucy felt obligated to continue. "Natsu, I'm _Lucy_." Lucy revealed and the room went silent. Natsu seemed to deliberate for a moment, his brows scrunched together and Lucy almost threw the remote for the television at him for being so thick. Then, a sudden look of intense realization.

"O-oh-!" Natsu swiped the beanie off his head as he slightly spun around in shock. He then turned around and set a fiery glare on Cana. "You played me!"

"Join the freaking club." Lucy muttered but was happy that someone else agreed with her anger towards the brunette.

"Hey, hey, I was just doing what you guys wanted… It's not my fault you guys kind of already knew each other." Cana snickered and Lucy crossed her arms.

"I'm mad at you." Lucy pouted and Natsu snickered from behind her.

"Man, you guys are totally gonna thank me in the end, I can guarantee it." Cana huffed and patted Lucy on the head. "I'm very happy that you are okay, but I need to go see my dad…" Cana grimaced slightly, but Lucy knew she looked forward to the days that she got to see Gildarts. "See you in class, lover boy." Cana winked at Natsu who just scowled at her and said nothing.

"Hey, it was nice to meet you, sorry it was because of being almost killed because of Natsu. I've gotta get going though, I'm glad you're okay." Gray waved and Lucy bid him farewell as he headed out. Lucy was left with Levy by her side and Natsu staring at the ground.

"Er, Lu I'll be right back, I'm going to go get the nurse so we can see when you can get out of here!" Levy bounded out of the room and Lucy silently cursed her as she left her alone with Natsu. It was quiet for too long and Lucy closed her eyes, frowning up at the ceiling.

"Hey." Natsu's raspy voice sounded closer to her bed making Lucy jump slightly; she hadn't heard him walk over to her. "Seriously, I'm sorry…"

"This is one way to meet, I guess." Lucy sighed and gestured down to her leg. Natsu frowned deeply at the cast and shook his head a bit.

"I really am so sorry."

"Why was Gray chasing you?" Lucy questioned and Natsu frowned at the floor, a blush dusting over his cheeks.

"I ate the last of _his_ poptarts." Natsu revealed after a long pause and Lucy's mouth hung open slightly.

"Are you serious?" Lucy stifled a giggle. "I have a broken leg over a poptart?"

"Ugh…" Natsu groaned and put a hand over his face. Lucy couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter seeming to surprise Natsu who looked at her curiously.

"That's ridiculous!"

"Yeah, I know…" Natsu smirked a smirk that had Lucy's heart racing. Just because she found out that the skater guy was Natsu didn't change the fact that she was horribly attracted to him. "I really didn't know you were _the_ Lucy that Cana tried to set me up with."

"And I didn't know that you were _the_ Natsu. I'm glad we finally got to meet though."

"Me too." Natsu smiled brightly revealing curiously sharp canines.

"Hey, you said you didn't want to meet because you like another girl and you didn't want to make things complicated- I hope she won't be jealous." Lucy chuckled lightly, though the thought of him being attracted to another girl put her off a bit. Natsu's face suddenly got beet red and he swallowed hard. Lucy was confused by his reaction and quirked her brow slightly.

"Er, uh… I-I don't think that'll be a problem, heh." Natsu rubbed his neck embarrassedly and Lucy was about to question him when Levy returned to her room with one of the nurses.

"Lucy, if you're feeling alright now, they said that they can just check your vitals and you can go home!" Levy smiled and Lucy looked at her eagerly.

"Great! I am feeling okay." Lucy sat up and groaned slightly at the dull ache in her leg. Natsu instinctively steadied her and Lucy did her best to hide the blush that she knew was forming.

"H-hey, um, why don't you let me help you through this? We live in the same apartment anyways… A-and it is my fault." Natsu offered suddenly and Lucy looked at him wide eyed.

"O-oh, you really would do that?"

"Yeah!" Natsu grinned flashing his toothy grin and secured his black beanie back on his head. "S'long as you're okay with it!"

"She'd _love_ that!" Levy answered hurriedly for her and Lucy scowled over her shoulder at her friend. "I mean, I could, but it's more convenient since you guys live in the same building! Plus, you two already _do_ kinda know each other." Levy chuckled and Lucy resisted the urge to leap on her friend and clamp a hand over her mouth.

"Great!" Natsu said through his smile, his cheeks still a bit pink.

"Y-yeah… Thank you, Natsu."

"Don't worry, I'll try my best not to break anything else!" Natsu promised and Lucy giggled though she could have _sworn_ that she heard Levy mumble, ' _just break the bed'_.


End file.
